Flight schools claiming 97% of grads becoming FO

[urbnplnr]

I am currently looking at several flight schools in the US because I would like to be a commercial pilot. My understanding is that it is fairly difficult to get a job after training and that it may take years to get an offer.

However, I have seen some schools stating that their students have a very high placement rate. At least one school claims that 97% of their graduates get first officer job offers within a few months after getting their training. This sounds unrealistically high to me. Is this just some inflated claim that schools use to get students? Or is it possible that a good school with the proper training can have such high placement even in this economy? Thanks.

[flighttime2.0]

Maybe they placed with burger king or mcdonalds !

[What's a Girdler]

Quite agree Jon, The ones who put the biggest and flashest adverts in the press, don't always appear to deliver the best training and sometimes have a greater marketing team than instructing team! Think v. carefully before submitting all that cash!!!

[Send Clowns]

I hope I can dispel an impression Jon's post might give to some people new to flying (I believe unintentionally, Jon, I am not criticising you!). There is, in my experience, very little bashing of other schools in the industry. In general, with one or two exceptions, it is a very close industry with friendly rivalry and little hostile competition. It has to be so, as students change from one school to another for different modules and for various reasons. Of course each of us still thinks we're the best, we just accept that the others have the mistaken impression they are!

[Send Clowns]

:D I knew what you meant!

Absolutely. My pet hates are separate VAT and separate home approach fees. We all have to pay the former, so why separate it? The latter can be taken care of by landing cards for commercial training at most airports, so there is no reason to charge separately, and on an IR trip it can make a lot of difference if you make 3 approaches at an international airport!

[spaceman1000]

the ex comair aviation school in Sanford is claiming 97%, only because people not passing their exams are not counted. so they claim what they want.
they have the same adverstising for 20 years regardless of the economic situation, so it is all bullock.

when they pay to pass advertisings in a magazin like flyers, they pay 2-3 years in advance. the same advertising is still the same.
Same principe when a company is placing ads for pilots, but in fact they are not hiring.It is a system to stayed tune on the market to prevent a shortage.